Maitreya BodhisattvaMaitreya (Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर), is also translated to Chinese as the Loving One. Maitreya is his surname. His name is Ajita, which means Unsurpassed. in roll one of the commentary of " mahā-vairocanābhisaṃbodhi-vikurvitādhiṣṭhāna-vaipulya-sūtra", it says “Out of the four unlimited minds of the Buddha, Maitreya Bodhisattva is foremost in compassion. This compassion is born from the tathāgata-vaṃśa (tathāgata lineage), it can prevent all the seeds of buddhahood from being severed in the world. Therefore he is called the compassionate one.” He took the form of Bodhisattva to speak Dharma for the heavenly beings and live in the Tusita Heaven. He will be reborn in the future Saha World and become the World’s next Buddha. Among the One Thousand Buddhas of the Worthy Kalpa, he is the fifth Buddha, commonly known as Maitreya Honored Future Buddha or Maitreya Buddha.

Early Records

According to the Sutra of Maitreya’s Ascension and the Sutra on Maitreya’s Descent, he was born in the Village of Jieboli of the Kingdom of Varanasi, to the family of Great Brahman Pravari. He was born with an adorned appearance and endowed with extraordinary intelligence. Following India’s customs, a fortuneteller was asked to see the newborn. The surprised fortuneteller predicted, “This child has the appearance of a Wheel-Turning King. He will become one such a king in his adulthood.” This prediction was quick to reach the king. Everyone in the court panicked and was afraid that a coup-d’état was bound to occur. They were eager to find the child as soon as possible to murder him. Maitreya’s father sensed the danger lurking in the dark and hid him in his uncle’s house. His uncle was still worried that he could still not avoid the threat, so Maitreya was asked to study the Dharma and leave home life to follow the Buddha.

Since Maitreya was raised in an affluent family, he was still surrounded by people of the same status and enjoyed dressing up. The king offered a golden sash to the Buddha. The Buddha then offered to the bhikshus. Seeing how glamorous the sash was, no one dared to take it except Maitreya, who accepted it. He wore it every day while walking around begging for food, and some bhikshus had opinions about him. He heard them but was never affected.

In the Surangama Sutra, Maitreya Bodhisattva spoked about himself, “I can recall the time when a Buddha named Brilliance of Sun, Moon, and Lamp was in the world; it was as many eons ago as there are motes of dust. I entered the monastic life as a disciple of that Buddha. At that time I was deeply preoccupied with a wish to be well known. I enjoyed cultivating friendships with eminent families of the nobility.”

In the Introduction Chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Manjurshri Bodhisattva also commented on Maitreya “whose heart harbored laxness, and who / Was greedily attached to fame and gain. / Seeking fame and gain untiringly, / He often visited the great clans.”

In Mahayana Buddhism, Maitreya Bodhisattva is regarded as a Bodhisattva of Equivalent Enlightenment and also as a Bodhisattva of Wonderful Awakening. He is one of the eight great Bodhisattvas. He is often referred to as Ajita Bodhisattva in Mahayana sutras. He is hailed as the founding patriarch of the Yogacara School. This immense school of thought is best represented by “Yogacarabhumi-sastra,” the Discourse on the Stages of Yogic Practice, promoted by Bodhisattvas Asanga and Vasubandhu. The discourse was strongly recommended by the Chinese master Dao-an and Xuanzhuang.

Image(1) Before the Five Dynasties era

There are two different images of Maitreya in China, as a Bodhisattva or as a Buddha, illustrated based on the Sutra of Maitreya’s Ascension and the Sutra on Maitreya’s Descent.The Bodhisattva image of Maitreya is mainly used to depict when he speaks Dharma for the celestial beings in Tushita Heaven. He is dressed like a Bodhisattva, sitting with his legs crossed or his left leg hanging down from the seat.

The image of Maitreya as a Buddha shows his role after being reborn in the human realm to succeed Shakyamuni Buddha under the Dragon-Flower tree to rescue the world. His appearance is not dissimilar from the Tathagata.

(2) After the Five Dynasty Era

In the Later Liang Dynasty, a bhikshu with a large belly, modelled after Monk Qici, began to appear from Jiangzhe. Qici was plump, full of smiles, bare-chested and with a sack in hand. Before entering nirvana, he left a verse,

Maitreya, the true Maitreya, In millions of Transformations He always appears before people But is never recognized.

Hence, he was thought to be a transformation of Maitreya, and after which, Maitreya Bodhisattva’s statue was often made in this image of kindness, smiles and tolerance.

A famous couplet goes, “An accommodating big belly that accommodates all that is hard to accommodate in this world; A laughing face to laught at all those who are laughable in this world.”

BirthdayJanuary 1 of the lunar calendar is Maiterya Bodhisattva's birthday.

Why do we worship Maitreya Bodhisattva in the Dining Halls?In Buddhism,
dining halls are called Hall of Abstinence and also the Hall of Five
Contemplations. What do we worship Maitreya Bodhisattva in the dining hall? In
fact, there is an interesting story from Tiantong Temple in Ningbo. Even now,
the temple has two dharma thrones in the dining hall, and there is a
commemorating verse:
Maitreya appears
impoverished and sits in the main seat.
The monk on
duty drags him by his ear, but the ear grew long.
The abbot
shows great generosity and gladly accepted the guest.
He asked a
server to set another seat for Maitreya.
On the south
side of the dining hall in Tiantong Temple, there has been the dharma throne of
the abbot since the Liang Dynasty. It has been a tradition of long history. One
day during lunch came a fat bhikshu with long ears that touched his shoulders. It
was not yet lunch time, but the fat bhikshu already sat in the abbot’s seat
yelling that he wanted food. He refused to get off even when the monk on duty
tried to persuade him. A group of monks tried to push him unsuccessfully. Out
of ideas, the monk on duty rushed to his side, grabbed him by his ear and
walked back, in attempt to get him off the seat. Surprisingly, the fat
bhikshu’s ear was stretched to as long as three feet while his body stayed
motionless. Everyone was shocked by this unusual sight. The abbot Miyunyuanwu
politely said to the bhikshu, “Please be compassion and forgive everyone’s
ignorance.” The abbot then asked a server to set up another dharma throne near
the entrance. When the meal ended, everyone looked at the original throne for
the abbot, but the fat bhikshu had already disappeared. The abbot then said,
“Today we are blessed to have Maitreya Bodhisattva visit our Bodhimanda. From
now on at this temple, no one shall be permitted to sit on the dharma throne
for the abbot. The other throne by the entrance will be kept. The abbot will
sit on the north side with everybody from now on.”
Even until now, in the Hall of Five
Contemplations in many temples, there is still a statue of Maiteya Bodhisattva
in the middle, usually in a plump body, bare-chested and
with a big smile. Some others have a hat on the head and are contemplating with
one leg crossed.